The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and particularly to an electrical connector with fixing devices for securely mounting the connector on a printed circuit board for ensuring a reliable electrical signal transmission between the connector and the printed circuit board.
With the rapid development of electronic technology, electronic products are required to have highly reliable signal transmission capabilities. To achieve this reliability, electrical connectors for firmly fixed to their corresponding circuit board so that terminals of the connector can be securely connected with circuit traces on the printed circuit board. A fixing device is needed to fix the connector at a preselected position relative to the printed circuit board in order to prevent the connector from floating during soldering.
Related inventions are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,085,589 and 5,004,430. Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional electrical connector 7 is used for mounting on a printed circuit board (not shown). The electrical connector 7 comprises an insulative housing 70 which defines a plurality of passageways 77 for receiving corresponding contacts 9 therein. A D-shaped projection 76 extends from a front side of body portion 71 and is covered by a metal shroud 8. The body portion 71 defines a pair of fixing holes 75 at lateral sides thereof for receiving corresponding fixing screws 11 extending therethrough. A pair of flat plates 73 is formed at lateral sides of the housing 70. A pair of locking holes 74 is defined in the plates 73 for receiving corresponding boardlocks 102 integral formed a pair of fixing elements 10.
After assembly, the boardlocks 102 extend through the locking holes 74 and fix the electrical connector 7 to the printed circuit board. However, since the insulative housing 70 has no positioning means for accommodating the fixing elements 10. The fixing elements 10 are difficult to retain properly positioned in the corresponding locking holes 74 during assembly. Furthermore, if the insulative housing 70 has an elongated shape, the conventional fixing elements 10 can not reliably fix the electrical connector 7 to the circuit board.
Thus there is a need for an improved fixing device for reliably attaching the electrical connector to the circuit board.